Your 2012 DIY costumes for kids

Monday, October 15, 2012 8:25 AM

Chantel Scambray submitted this photo of her son Trevor Scambray (as a toilet)
She writes:
"Creating our own costumes is a longstanding family tradition in our house. It started with me sewing them costumes when they were babies and then as they got older relying on the child's talents and skills as much as possible. My son, Trevor, has also always insisted on having a costume that he has never seen on someone else. Just a few days aways from turning 11 last year, his dream costume was to be a toilet.
"Here is how we created it. I do have certain hygiene requirements, so we used a newly purchased toilet seat and chose a lightweight foam one. He crafted the tank out of a cardboard box, cutting out a hole for the neck so it sat over his torso. He used white duct tape to cover the tank box. It just so happened that we had the tape, otherwise white paint would have worked fine. He then made a toilet handle out of aluminum foil and glued it in position on the tank. The toilet seat was a bit tricky, but we ended up tying it into position with some floral wire threaded around the lid hinge and then through a few small holes in the tank. Finally, using the same white duct tape, he taped on a white trash bag to the underside rim of the toilet seat allowing for candy givers to open the lid, drop candy into the seat hole and down into the bag. Getting into costume was easy: just slip the box over his head and he was ready for trick or treating.
"Looking back, this was the perfect costume for him at this age. There is a pretty small demographic of people who can carry off being dressed as a toilet, and he fit it. His design was successful in that it was simple enough for him to visualize and create with recognizable results. With all the positive reviews people gave him, he was able to feel pride and success with his work. It also paid out in him receiving vast quantities of candy (more than any other year). The only downside to creating his 'dream' costume last year has been figuring how to follow it up with a costume for this year."